Papa Bouba Diop has been speaking to his www.icons.com website about his arrival to Fratton Park and his strong feeling that Portsmouth have Europe firmly in their sight.
‘I was delighted to sign for Portsmouth on Friday and after all the speculation of the past few weeks, I can now get back to playing football and not worry about anything else. After three years at Craven Cottage and having won nothing, I just felt it was time to move on and to experience a new challenge. In my opinion, I feel Portsmouth have the squad and the management to push for honours and I certainly believe we are good enough to be playing European football next season.’
Adding, ‘I simply didn’t get that feeling at Fulham and with a new manager in place, it was best for all concerned that I move on. I wasn’t a part of Lawrie Sanchez’s plans – he has brought his own men in, and so it was an easy decision for me in the end.’
‘It is only a coincidence, but I must admit that it will be easy for me to settle at Portsmouth with the large number of African players in the ranks. I played with Benjani at Grasshoppers and John Utaka at Lens and I spoke to them about the club and they told me there’s a fantastic camaraderie among the players. They also said the fans are amazing, so it will be great to run out at Fratton Park for the first time, soon. At the moment, I’m off to play for the national team (Senegal) against Burkina Faso on Saturday. It’s a big game because if we win against our neighbours, then we are through to the African Cup of Nations finals.’
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